Nintendo will unveil its feverishly-anticipated Switch 2 console in the next 48 hours, according to multiple industry sources. After months of leaks and rumours, our first official glimpse of the console will take place via a teaser trailer shared online on Thursday January 16, sources claim.
President Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed in May 2024 that Nintendo's next console would be announced within that fiscal year. That means we'll need to see the successor to the Nintendo Switch — rumoured to be called Switch 2 — before March 2025 to meet that deadline.
The first announcement of the new console will focus solely on hardware, rather than its games lineup. The latest rumours come courtesy of an insider, who shares information as @NateTheHate2 on X, formerly Twitter. The leakster has a decent track record, with more hits than misses. The same Switch 2 claims have subsequently been corroborated by The Verge's Tom Warren and gaming outlets VGC and Eurogamer.
The original Nintendo Switch has now sold over 146 million units since its 2017 launch, making it one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time.
Despite lacking the power found inside the latest Xbox and PlayStation consoles, its unique design — offering both at-home and handheld gameplay — as well as exclusive franchises like Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, The Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros, and Pokémon to name just a few, helped the system hold its title as the best-selling console in the United States for a record-breaking 22 consecutive months.
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After the disastrous launch of the Wii U — the ill-fated successor to Nintendo Wii, which sold 101 million unit making it the fifth best-selling console in history — almost bankrupt the Japanese gaming firm, there's a considerable amount of pressure on whether Nintendo can follow-up the Switch.
in case it wasn't obvious from my tease in Notepad last week, I've heard it should be the Switch 2 reveal this weekx.com
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) January 13, 2025
Nintendo has already confirmed its next console will maintain backwards compatibility with existing Switch games and the Nintendo Switch Online service, ensuring players can keep accessing their current game libraries. President Shuntaro Furukawa made this commitment during a briefing at the end of last year, suggesting Nintendo is focused on a smooth transition for its massive existing user base.
The Switch 2 is rumoured to feature significant hardware upgrades, including a larger 8-inch LCD screen, which is a step up from the 6.2-inch display on the standard Switch and the 7-inch one on the pricier Switch OLED Model.
Powering the new console will purportedly be an octa-core Nvidia chipset with dramatically improved graphics capabilities. Nintendo is rumoured to have worked closely with Nvidia to ensure graphics closer to what's possible on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on-the-move and on the big screen at-home while maintaining battery life.
The system will use upscaling technology to output 4K resolution to your flatscreen, rumours claim.
Nintendo will pair the all-new system-on-a-chip with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage, representing a substantial increase from the original Switch's specifications. If accurate, this suggests the size of games for the Switch 2 will be much bigger than the original.
For context, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild requires 14.4GB of free storage to install from the Nintendo eShop (rather than running from the cartridge) — one of the biggest games launched by the Japanese firm. The latest blockbuster release from Microsoft, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, requires a mammoth 130GB of available storage on Xbox consoles to start playing.
If the Switch 2 is targeting similar performance to the PlayStation 4, we could expect some games to require between 30 - 60GB to install. For example, The Last of Us Remastered demanded at least 47GB on your PS4 to install.
Developers have reportedly been shown impressive tech demos, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild running at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second on the (as-yet) unannounced hardware.
Epic Games' The Matrix Awakens technical demo to showcase the power of Unreal Engine 5 has also allegedly been demonstrated on the system, showcasing its increased horsepower compared to its predecessor.
The new hardware is expected to maintain similar form factor to the original Switch, continuing the hybrid console approach that proved so successful.
Nintendo's reveal strategy will reportedly follow a two-part approach, with this week's hardware showcase followed by a dedicated software presentation. Sources indicate the second presentation, focusing on the Switch 2's game lineup, will take place in either late February or early March.
"I've heard that the reveal itself is going to focus almost exclusively on the console itself. There is not going to be any presence of games", said Nate the Hate claimed on his podcast.
With the hardware and games unveiled by mid-March, Nintendo is expected to release the Switch 2 between May and June 2025, according to multiple industry sources. Recent reports from The Nikkei suggest the delayed launch window was chosen specifically to ensure sufficient supply and combat scalping — a problem that has plagued other recent console launches.
Several vendors at the January 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) have already showcased accessories for the upcoming console, supporting the spring launch timeframe. Nintendo recently broke its silence around the endless slew of Switch 2 leaks that emerged at CES 2025.
The company told Japanese newspaper The Sankei Shimbun that images and videos from CES are "not official", responding to peripheral manufacturer Genki's claims about its next-generation console.
A Nintendo spokesperson specifically stated that "the gaming hardware that Genki claims to be Nintendo hardware at CES is official and was not provided to the company by Nintendo".
Genki had created a mockup of the Switch 2 at CES, initially claiming it was based on seeing the real console firsthand. The company later backtracked, admitting to The Game Spark that their mockup was based only on existing leaks, not direct experience with the system.
Reports suggest Nintendo sent lawyers to confront Genki at their CES booth, though the accessory maker claimed they weren't concerned as they hadn't signed any confidentiality agreements.
The legal response has led some fans to speculate the leaks may be accurate, with one Reddit user noting that "'not official' does not mean 'inaccurate'."
It comes as a leak from the internal database of French retailer Micromania has purportedly revealed key details about the European price and the games set to debut alongside the Nintendo Switch 2.
Some tipsters believe that Nintendo had hoped to debut its Switch 2 during the busy Christmas shopping period last year, but decided to delay the console to ensure it had a strong lineup of games ready to release in the first months of its lifecycle.
The hybrid console is expected to retail for €399 in Europe, according to leaked information from Micromania. At the time of writing, that would equate to roughly £336.
However, it's worth noting that Micromania currently sells the standard Nintendo Switch for €299, which has an RRP of £259 in the UK, so it's possible that we'll see a similar conversion between the mainland European price and the UK when the Switch 2 releases in the coming months.
Elsewhere, the leak purportedly revealed 25 different games scheduled to launch with the Switch 2. These cost between €69 and €79, according to the internal Micromania database. That would be a price hike of 14%.
Among the launch lineup is a new Mario Kart title and Super Mario Galaxy 3 — a sequel to bestselling series that made its debut on Wii, rather than Super Mario Odyssey, which has become one of the most popular games on the Nintendo Switch. Metroid Prime 4, originally announced back in 2017, has also been spotted among the launch window titles on Micromania's website.
Third-party titles reportedly coming to the system include Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Assassin's Creed Mirage, and Metal Gear Solid Delta. All of these leaks align with previous reports suggesting that Nintendo wants to have a strong software lineup ready for the console's debut.
The company appears to be positioning the Switch 2 with both first-party Nintendo franchises and major third-party releases at launch. Excited? GB News will have all of the news ...whether the company reveals its long-awaited console on January 16, or in the coming weeks.
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